I have been on here before, I am the typical start and go again person. I don't want to be her anymore. I just can't. I feel beat up and well just too damn fat. I am going to reintroduce myself, I don't think I have done that yet anyway. My name is Lynn, I am 26 years old and a single Mama to the two most beautiful children I have ever seen, they are 1 and 2 years old. I go to school full time and I start work part time in a couple of weeks. I am in school for nursing but I feel like such a hypocrite. How can I care about people's health and take care of them if I am this big? Would a patient take me seriously? Does anyone take me seriously?

I have been fat all of my life. By 11 years old, I was standing 5'3, weighing 120 and wearing a D cup. I was the active fatty though, I played sports- basketball, softball, and cheered. I dropped out of cheerleading right before high school because of my weight. I didn't want to be the fattest anymore, it didn't matter how good I was. The next year in high school, I quit basketball and softball. I really wish I would of stayed in softball, I was on the all star team, pretty darn good. Maybe I could of got a scholarship to college, maybe I wouldn't be this big now. There is always the what ifs. I don't want to look back a year from today and think "what if I would of started losing weight last year."

I want to live. I want to be healthy, not just for me but for my babies. I want to watch them graduate high school.
Sorry to ramble, I'll get down to it. At 26 years old (just had a birthday), I am 5'3 and 310 lbs, my BMI is 55. My whole body hurts. All of it. My knees, especially my left one feels like it is going to buckle under all of this weight. My doctor me that my knees are supporting 450 lbs of pressure. I am pre diabetic. I have gallstones. My doctor told me that he is surprised that I don't have "fat folds" on my stomach like "most people your weight do." I am not exactly sure what that is but I don't want them so I got to lose this weight. Not just because of that though, of course. I have this fat pocket on my knee that has been there for years and he said it was the first time he ever seen a fat deposit like that on a knee. I bruise super easily. And sometimes my heart hurts, I think that may be anxiety induced. I had an EKG done and they said it looked normal.

I don't really have a diet plan, I just have to go at it full force, quit the bad foods cold turkey. I am thinking 1500 calories a day, I am guessing I normally eat 2500 - 3000 a day. Any suggests on a meal plan?

If you have read it this far, thanks so much.

welcome!! you can do this take it slow and be persistent and the weight will come off...good luck!

Welcome Sunshine! I'm so sorry you're feeling so poorly right now. I know how debilitating that is. You're bound to feel overwhelmed by how much weight you want to lose. Accept that you can't do it all at once, and that the work ahead of you will become how you roll for a long time.

As for the plan, there are many ways to lose weight, but it really all comes down to eating less than you burn.

Keep the plan simple and slowly add to it. Like choose one food to cut from your diet that you know isn't good to eat and you can really live without. My first thing I got rid of is fried foods. Not something I was a huge fan of, but I still ate something fried fairly often. So I wanted chicken, I made sure it was grilled. If I wanted potatoes, I baked them and added butter and sour cream. I got fried foods completely out of my diet. Then I went on to eliminate sugar.

A lot of times we eat or drink something just because it's what we've always done. I like to mindlessly eat something while watching a TV show. Had to stop that because I didn't pay attention to how much I was eating. Then I learned that I have ADD and had trouble watching TV alone, so now I watch TV and surf the Internet at the same time. Sometimes I knit or work a puzzle. Wish I could do that at the movies but it's too dark!

Don't just cut foods out. You need good food to nourish your body so you're not craving anything when you cut calories. If there are any dark green leafy vegetables you enjoy, eat a serving of that daily and add an additional non-starchy vegetable serving at another meal. Make sure to eat about 4 to 6 oz of protein at each meal and to eat some good fats like avocado, almonds or walnuts, olive oil. That sort of food helps to control hunger. And if you're eating carbs, make them whole grain and not refined.

You might also rearrange when you eat certain types of food. For me, starting the day with sweet foods like cereal or oatmeal with brown sugar sets me up for failure. I can't stop eating after I eat that stuff. But if I have eggs with veggies for breakfast I do really well waiting for my next meal. And I can save the sweet stuff for late afternoon if I need a quick energy boost (sometimes I just gotta have an oatmeal cookie from Starbucks!)

You can change the way you eat. It just takes time. Good luck! And come here often to ask questions and get support. I wouldn't still be working at it without a really effective support system.

First of all, Sunshine, I commend you for starting to deal with weight problems now. I'm 49 years old and oh how I wish I'd dealt with all this years ago! I second the advice of starting slowly. I'll add that one of the best things you can do is to educate yourself about healthy diet and lifestyle. Read, read, read! There's a lot of help here, particularly in the articles on the main page. I've also learned a lot reading over at Livestrong and on Weight Watchers.

I also recommend finding a way to monitor your intake of food and to get some guidance about how much you should eat given your weight. This may be surprising to you, but 1500 calories is likely to be too low. I weigh 237 and my recommended calorie intake right now is 1650. As you can see from my ticker, I am being successful in losing weight.

Try going over to myfitnesspal.com. It's a place you can sign up for free and it will walk you through setting up some simple goals. I find the calorie tracker very easy to use.

Good luck and reach out when you need help!

I feel for ya. I agree with what the previous posters have said but just want to add that if you treat this as a series of mini-goals, it's a little easier to think about. Just losing 10% of my total weight has made a huge difference in the way I feel. Not only am I motivated, I don't have as much joint pain, I can move more easily and my energy level is a bit higher. I don't subscribe to the Biggest Loser method of going all out until you've reached some magic goal. Instead, go slow and choose a method that you can stick with for life because after you have lost the weight you will have to maintain control 4ever.

Good luck. Best wishes for success.

Thank you so much for the replies. I appreciate the advice and kind words.

I came up with 1500 because the calculator on Sparkpeople said my daily calorie goal should be 1530 - 1880. I will up it a little bit.

Thanks again.

Spark people is a great place to start! I've poked around their website quite a bit. It looks like they have tons of great information plus a strong community for support. And, BONUS, they're free.

LYNN ~ you could likely eat 1800-2100 calories a day and still lose weight at this point. Remember that this will give you some leeway and you can lower it as you go along. Walking is a good exercise to start with for now; and it's free ...

I just wanted to pop in here and relate. Being 5' 8", I started out at 360 pounds with a BMI of 54.7, which is very, very close to yours. It really is true that one year from today, you'll be glad you started. Even the tiniest little baby steps to work toward better health will take you the right direction.

Good luck to you.

I just want to tell you that you can do this!! Seriously, anything you put your mind to you can do. You just have to commit yourself as much as possible. I was in your shoes 9 and a half months ago. I weighed in at 294 in January of this year. I was almost 300 pounds and on my little frame of 5'2 on top of that. I am also around your age. So, I can really relate with you. After seeing that startling weight, I decided to make a change right then and there. And I have not looked back since! And never plan on it either. I started eating right, counting calories and exercising for the first time in my life. I eliminated fast food, junk food. Added in lots of proteins, veggies, and fruits. I am not saying you can't have the occasional indulgence once and awhile, but I am talking only once and awhile. I still eat some of my favorite foods (pizza, burgers, spaghetti) but more healthier ways, I grill most my food and eat whole grain breads/pasta now. And pizza only once a month now with a salad! Also, with exercise. I would start out slowly. Start by walking a little each day and start adding more distance in day by day or week by week. A little later, you can add in zumba or water aerobics. I did zumba for my beginning months and still enjoy it. It is fun and makes you sweat! You just got to make sure you are ready for this. It is tough but it sure is a journey worth risking! Believe me I never imagined losing 110 pounds in 9 months! But anything is possible. Believe in yourself. Power is all in your hands!
Good luck, if you need anything! Don't hesitate to ask.

I'm in a similar situation, 26, 5'11 and 372 (!?!?!?!) and a BMI of about 50. :'(

Last year, I got down to about 290, but it all slowly crept back on, I couldnt believe that I gained EVERYTHING back. I'm close to 400 pounds, how in the world does that happen?? Well... I'm back on track for a few reasons...

I'm also in nursing school, an RN program. I don't worry so much about being a hypocrite, tho maybe I should be. I'm more concerened that I can't seem to keep up at clinical. I have a 12 hour shift once a week, and only a few hours into it, I'm exhausted. I don't have the strength to do some of the things my classmates can do, it doesnt take much before my back starts to hurt. HOW can I be a nurse if I can't handle the physical demands of the job?

On the flipside, I've always been heavy, and everytime I go to the Dr. It's always... oh you have stress headaches? Loss weight and you'll be fine....Doctors and nurses have always been kinda crappy to me becuase of my weight. So when I do get to a healthy weight (and I know I wil) I can be more encouraging to my patients. Like, "LOOK! It CAN be done!" And also be able to empathize, I really know how hard it is! (I feel like skinny people who have never been fat don't realize how hard it really is)

Hang in there girl, WE CAN DO IT!

I started out 5'3" and almost 300 pounds about 5 months ago. I was depressed and scared. This is my third serious attempt to lose the weight and I'm not sure I could say what the difference is. What I do know is that for years I would let the overwhelming thought of how much weight I needed to lose, keep me from starting any diet. I would tell myself that it was going to take a year for me to get the majority of my weight off and if it was going to take that long, it could wait until tomorrow. Then a year would pass and all I could think was how much further along I'd be if I'd stuck to the plan.

I literally tell myself everyday that time is passing whether or not I'm doing the things that will make me happy. Days, weeks and months are passing regardless so I might as well take care of myself.

The first couple of months were hard because even though I was losing weight, I couldn't really see any results and neither could anyone else. I guess when you've got more to lose, it's harder to see those first 20 pounds but I'm so glad that I stuck to it because 55 pounds down and I feel a thousand times better and it seems like the last few months have flown by. How upset would I have been if I was still trying to get started?

You can do it...just take one day at a time.

I just wanted to add my support. You can do this. Slow and steady wins the race! I have lost 50 pounds several times in my life and normally pretty fast. (Six months or so). Now I am doing it a lot slower this time, even though I weigh more, but feel more confident that I will stick with it. You can look up basal metabolism calculators online. You put in your gender weight and age and it will tell you how many calories your body needs just to live (lay on the couch all day and not move at all). For me it says my basal metabolism is about 1900. If I get around 1800 calories a day I still lose. You know with normal activity of daily living I probably need 2200 or so and getting 1800 gives me a deficit and I lose slowly each week. Some weeks I lose more if I eat a little less. I never seem to go below 1500 a day. I haven't started officially exercising yet either. I walk a little more here and there but nothing "official". You will be amazed, in a month or so you can be about 10 pounds less. Each pound adds up! good luck to you!

Welcome and good luck ! I eventually pared my goals down to losing 10 pounds at a time, I would have never thought I would eventually lose 90 pounds. After the first 10 pounds I went on to another 10 pounds. I also count calories I found that was what worked best for me. That is a little known secret, work what works best for you. a diet and exercise plan that you will follow. It is OK to experiment until you find what is best for you. Most importantl do not give up. You can do it !

Hello, and welcome! I too just wanted to jump in here and add my support and encouragement! As you can see from my ticker, I too was once in the 300+ group and made it out of it! You can too!!!

I agree that 1500 calories is a bit low. My doctor told me never to go under 1300 bare minimum and that I would lose just as weight as by eating fewer because my body would start not processing it as well. And yes, eating the healthier foods... including the healthier fats such as nuts and avocados... keeps hunger under control. Once you start getting the sugars, chemicals, etc., out of your system, your cravings for them will decrease dramatically. And for me, I had to break the mindless, night eating habit but once I did I seldom even think about food when I am awake in the night or before I go to bed; even when I do I can say no to it. It just too easily becomes a habit but it can be broken.

It is hard sometimes to be patient... for me this is day 11 of a plateau... grrrrrrrr... it does not always happen as quickly as we would like. But it does happen! And I agree with those who said doing it healthfully and gradually is far better than some crash diet. You want to be healthy as well as thin.

I also think it is good to be under a doctor's supervision. Is your doctor supportive? Perhaps he could recommend a good nutritionist to help you.

One other thing... make it a game... make it FUN! There are a lot of challenges on here... exercise, etc. Start tracking your NSVs (non-scale victories) and posting them in the forum. Take progress photos every 10 pounds or so. Sort out your clothes by sizes and hang up a section of "barely too small" etc... and put away the smaller things. This morning I have been going through my "too small stuff" and found several items I can wear. Yay!!! NSVs include new things you can do. Sometimes I will still take a "victory lap" through the bakery section of the grocery store just to say hello to some old friends... but be careful about doing that until you are strong enough not to get too tempted LOL. There are all kind of things you can do to make it fun and focus on your accomplishments instead of how much you weigh. As you lose 10 pound go into the store and pick up a 10 pound bag of potatoes (etc.) and realize that is how much you are now NOT carrying around everywhere.

It is super that you are starting this when you are young. Go for it. You CAN do this!!